Unfortunately for the Catalans, their latest bid of £90.4million (€100m), made up of £76.8million (€85m) up front and £13.6million in add-ons (€15m) according to Sky Sports, has merely seen the Merseysiders reiterate that Coutinho is not currently for sale at any price.

Barca's latest effort to acquire the former Inter Milan man follows the completion of Neymar's world record £200million switch to Paris Saint-Germain.

Their hopes of acquiring Coutinho as a replacement seemed to be boosted earlier in the week when it emerged that the player, who has so far remained tight-lipped on the matter, would like to make the move.

However, after signing a new five-year contract in January, the Brazilian has so far refused to rock the boat and, according to the Liverpool ECHO, respects the club's stance.

Indeed, of greater concern to the Reds at present is seemingly a back injury that threatens to rule the 25-year-old out of Saturday's opening day trip to Watford.

Following their trip to Vicarage Road, Jürgen Klopp's side face the first leg of a pivotal Champions League play-off with Hoffenheim.

Vital CommentIt's no surprise to see Barca reignite their interest in Coutinho and in any other summer their latest offer might have been tempting. However, Neymar's transfer has, temporarily at least, and certainly in the case of all prospective deals involving the La Liga giants, moved the goalposts. As good as Neymar is he's not twice the player of Coutinho! For me, Liverpool's firm rebuttals continue to be the order of the day and one can only hope Coutinho remains professional and committed to the cause. His exit would be a crushing blow to supporters, who worship the player, to Klopp's aspirations of moulding the Reds into regular trophy chasers and to owners Fenway Sports Group's hopes of proving their commitment to an increasingly doubtful fanbase.

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